Brush



W. C. READ.

BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. 1918.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

557,}, M avwe-mfoz N TED STATES PATENT orrion.

WALTER C. READ, 0F BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

BRUSH.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER C. READ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomfield, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brushes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a brush of the type usually provided with a wooden back in which the screw-threaded end of a handle is received. For convenience in sweeping, the handle is tilted or placed at a considerable angle with reference to the brush and, consequently, the rows of bristles on one side of the brush wear first and the brush becomes unserviceable or ineflicient long before the remaining bristles have worn down. To overcome these disadvantages, I provide the back with a plurality of openings to receive the handle. Two such openings symmetrically inclined and symmetrically arranged are usually sufiicient. Thus, when the bristles along one edge of the brush begin to show wear, the handle may be removed from the back and placed in the second or opposite hole, which will transfer the wear to the set of bristles which has not been worn.

A further disadvantage of brushes of this general type has resided in the fact that the handle tends to loosen from the back and thus become unserviceable long before the brush as a whole is worn out. A common way of attaching the handle to the back is by screw-threading the end of the former and inserting it in a screw-threaded hole in the back. In the course of the use of the brush, there is wear in these wood threads which results in the handle becoming loose, and the average user either does not understand how to remedy this or is not provided with tools for that purpose. My improved brush, as already set forth, has a plurality of holes in the back and in the hole which is not occupied by the handle, I preferably insert a screw plug. Since these holes intersect, the plug may be tightened home against the end of the handle which is received in the back, thus detachably clamping the handle firmly in place. The plug and handle are interchangeable so that when wear occurs in the bristles along one side ofthe brush, each may be placed in the hole previously occupied by the other. I also preferably pro- Serial No. 236,469.

vide the plug with a suitable attachment from which the brush as a whole may be suspended.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a brush embodying my invention, in the position in which it is ordinarily used for sweeping. Fig. 2 is a view of the same device hung up by its suspending means, and Fig. 3 is a central transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 1 designates the back, which is usually constructed of wood, and in which the tufts of bristles 2 are secured in any suitable fashion. The back is provided with a pair of screw-threaded holes 3 and A, which are preferably similar in dimensions and which may be inclined at the same angle to the vertical axis of the brush and which likewise intersect. The handle 5 is provided with a screw-threaded end 6, which is adapted to be received interchangeably in either of these holes. After it is thus screwed into position, as shown in Fig. 3, a screw plug 7 may be inserted in the other hole and screwed home until its end 8 seats firmly against the threads of the portion 6 of the handle and thereby clamps the handle in fixed operative position. One end of the plug is preferably provided with some means, such as the ring 9, by which the brush may be suspended from a hook 10 or other suitable device, as shown in Fig. 2, and its other end may be tapered to afford a better clamping action against the threads.

From the mode of use of the brush, it will be seen that the rows of bristles along the side 11 will first show wear. whereas the bristles along the opposite edge 12 will wear down much more slowly, When this wear of the bristles 11 becomes apparent, or even before that time, the user can readily detach the handle from the back by first unscrewing the plug and then unscrewing the handle itself. The handle may then be inserted in the hole 4 and the plug placed in the hole 3. with its end bearing against the threads of the handle. With the parts thus reversed, the brush is just as useful for sweeping and the maior wear is now transferred from the bristles 11 to the bristles 12.

In either position of the parts, it will be seen that the plug is adapted to engage the threaded end of the handle and to lock it firmly in place, thus effectively preventing any wearof the threads. At the same time, the plug acts to protect the threads in the hole in which the handle is not inserted from mechanical injury and also from the lodgment of dirt. The ring secured to the plug provides a convenient means for hanging up the brush when not I in use.

Having thus described my invention, 1. claim:

In a brush, a brush back having a pair of similar intersecting holes therein, each of said holes being internally screw threaded, a handle having a screw'threaded end capable of being screwed into either of said holes past the point of intersection of said holes, and a screw threaded plug capable of being screwed into either of said holes sothat its end will bear against the portion of the handle screwed into the other hole, whereby it will prevent the handle from unscrewing, said handle and'plugbeing interchangeable and their conjoint use filling both holes in the brush back. r

WALTER C; READ. 

